


Tangle Your Heart with Mine

by orphan_account



Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Tangled, Body Horror, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Falling In Love, M/M, Magic, Murder, Princes & Princesses, Puppets, Witches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-18
Updated: 2016-11-06
Packaged: 2018-04-15 11:05:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4604340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hikaru doesn't really know how he got in this situation, sitting on an uncomfortable wooden chair and his torso tied to the chair with dirty rope. All he wanted, was to escape the place guards. Now here he is, with a blonde shouting and screaming at him about a teddy bear. Hikaru's pretty sure she's crazy, with the length of her hair, and the messy plaits they'd been put in. Not to mention the clothes that so obviously didn't fit her. But she was cute, he'd give her that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Green-Eyed Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hikaru was never good at 'feelings' and 'control', especially together. He always acted irrationally and was irritatingly jealous and possessive about things that were 'his'. Everything was an object that could either be 'his' or 'theirs'. There was no room to share with anyone but Kaoru. Everyone else would just ruin his stuff and taint them. Including his 'innocent' brother that obviously needed to be protected by the evil shadow king.

Hikaru pouts, leaning against the huge oak tree, his boot kicking it repeatedly. His arms crossed tightly across his chest, petty feelings rising in his chest softly.

“Come on, Hikaru! Stop being so pouty,” Kaoru tells him, as Hikaru looked away, noticing the pout Kaoru had his own pout on his lips. Hypocrite.

“You’re pouting too…” Hikaru mumbles, silently cursing at his childishness. 

But it wasn’t his fault that Kaoru had a shitty boyfriend.

It wasn’t even Kaoru’s fault.

It was that stupid fucking idiots fault.

With the way-

Who was Hikaru kidding? There was no known reason he hated Kyoya, he just did. 

It was childish, and Hikaru knew that deep down. It had always been him and Kaoru. They never had anyone else, never wanted anyone else in their life of stealing food, threatening people for money and kicking their way out of trouble. They were a team, the infamous Hitachiin brothers. They were well-known with a terrible reputation- Hikaru loved the pride of it, while Kaoru loved the benefits to the fear. They didn't need some damaged religious hound ruining their duo.

They didn't need Kyoya, who frankly, made Hikaru feel inadequate. Made Hikaru feel as if they'd leave without him in the middle of the night, or maybe they'd be kind and tell him prior. Either way, Hikaru was going to be left behind.

It's a little funny, since Kaoru vaguely made the same comments. 

Kaoru walks over to Hikaru, slightly nudging him off the tree. He sighs heavily, knocking his head back against the tree. He held Hikaru’s hand tightly, making Hikaru’s pout disappear into a straight line.

“I love you Hikaru, but Kyoya really makes me happy and nobody is going to make me choose out of the two of you. Not even you Hikaru,” Kaoru explains, making Hikaru want to cower in guilt.

He wanted Kaoru to be happy, of course he did.

He just. Kaoru didn't have the guts to toss Hikaru away when he decided that the two of them should be a crime couple, rather than a crime trio. And anyway, Kaoru was too pure for Kyoya anyway.

Sure, Kaoru had seriously injured at least ten people, killed two, blew up several corrupt churches and stole millions all by himself.

But still, Kyoya was way too, serious maybe? Hikaru doesn't really know, he's grasping at straws because honestly he respects Kyoya a lot.

“I do want you to be happy Kaoru. Please believe me on that. It’s just… Do we know anything about Kyoya? Like at all?” Hikaru asked him, expressing his concerns. Concerns that were fucking bullshit.

“Hikaru, we know everything about him. We know where he grew up, why he’s in the crime business, his favourite hobbies and how he likes his fucking coffee.” Kaoru argued, giving him a questionable look. His mouth shaped in that funny frown Kaoru did when he didn’t know whether to punch the person in question, or burst out laughing.

“I’m just being a good big brother! It’ my job to hate your boyfriend!” Hikaru exclaimed, letting go of Kaoru’s hand and waving his hands around dramatically. He was blowing up in tiny petty flames, and at this point, he didn't really see any problems with the fact. Maybe deep down, but shouting was the only way Hikaru knew how to express himself, so he wasn't guilty whatsoever.

Kaoru's eyes widened into golf balls, his hand slapping to his mouth as he stared at Hikaru's head. Kaoru gave in, bursting out laughing, his chest hurling inwards and his legs bending, his arms tightly wrapped across his chest.

“Oh my God!” Kaoru exclaimed, jumping off of the tree, his laughter getting louder as Hikaru’s face turned slightly pink.

“What are you laughing at?” Hikaru asked defensively, his mind worrying that he sounded an idiot.

But then again, Hikaru always sounded like an idiot. Or an asshole.

“I was telling the truth you know!” Hikaru told him, successfully making himself sound pathetic. Realising this, he blushed more.

“I’m not laughing at that!“ Kaoru started, because cracking up with laughter and slapping his thigh lightly.

“Then what are you laughing at!” Hikaru demanded, his face now in a full blush. He couldn’t believe that Kaoru, of all people, was mocking him. Well, actually he could.

“You have bird shit on your head!” Kaoru exclaimed, watching Hikaru’s eyes widened and blush get even brighter than before.

“What?” Hikaru commented in horror, before slapping the top of his head hard and letting out a long wine.

Quickly, he ran over to the nearby river and dunked his head in, his hands frantically clawing at his hair. His fingers sticking to the icky sticky shit as he frantically tried to scrub it out.

He opened his eyes in the water, hoping to see something inspiring, or that disgusting to make him forget about the last ten minutes. He was embarrassed, and not just by the bird thing, but the yelling thing. He was old enough to act mature, and yet, he still stropped like a child.

Maybe Kaoru was right when he said he should get friends other than him.

He watched as the moss at the bottom swayed, literally begging the laughing he would hear from the surface to stop.

He knew Kaoru didn’t mean it in malice, but _oh my gosh._

How fucking embarrassing was that?

And he was pretty sure Kyoya was going to join him, he couldn’t handle that.

Hikaru would not stand for Kyoya laughing at him.

His eyebrows furrowed as he noticed a red light flashing the water. Curiously, he wiped away the moss and dirt from the area, his mind immediately screaming ‘oh shit’ as he realised what it was.

It was a bomb.

Frantically he pulled his head from the water and turned to Kaoru, his eyes wide, still shit on his head.

“You missed a bi-“ Kaoru started, his laughter dying down and his face with a smile.

“Run.” Hikaru stated, running towards Kaoru as fast as he could, ignoring Kaoru’s ‘what?’ and pushing him away.

Hikaru fell to the ground, a reel of curses spilling from his mouth as the beeping of the bomb became existent.

“Oh.” Kaoru muttered before scrambling to his feet and taking hold of Hikaru’s hand, pulling them both away.

They both fell to the ground as the bomb went off, their hands immediately going to their ears. Their eyes shutting tightly due to fear.

Hikaru panted loudly, his eyes wide open at what he’d managed to get out of.

“Watching the explosion is way better than being in one,” Kaoru commented, before letting out a nervous chuckle.

Hikaru joined in. It was crazy. They’d just survived a fucking explosion, and here Kaoru was making shitty jokes.

“Yeah, I guessed that much before,” Hikaru muttered, his hand raking through his hair.

“We need to leave,” Kyoya announced, holding a blooded knife that looked like it was used recently.

Hikaru smiled, he now had a valid reason to dislike him.

Yeah, him and Kaoru had killed people too (not many though) but that didn’t matter.

Kyoya was a bad person, that should definitely stay away from Kaoru.

Almost immediately, his expression changed to one of fear, seeing the fire all around him.

“You don’t fucking say,” Hikaru replied, smirking as Kyoya edged away from the fire. What a fucking wimp.

Kyoya ran over to Kaoru cautiously, pulling him into a hug and holding him tightly.

“Are you okay?” Kyoya asked Kaoru, pulling away slightly from the hug and putting his hands on the sides of Kaoru’s face.

So this was the ‘nice’ side of Kyoya.

Yeah, Kyoya was good for Kaoru. Hikaru was just too scared to admit it.


	2. Runaway Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hikaru was never good with commitment. He'd always run away from responsibility, he'd never seen the point in taking care of anyone but himself (and Kaoru). He'd never had any reason to have commitment or responsibility, so figured he'd never need it. He'd always have Kaoru to do all that stuff, so it didn't really matter, now did it? Kaoru would always be there to fix things and back him up. He'd never betray Hikaru and would stay by his side forever. Well, he would have if he hadn't met that rat Kyoya.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> still no tama sorry

Hikaru ran ahead of them, his head turning back to them every couple of seconds. his heart beating quickly in his chest, his breath fast and frantically. His limbs filled with adrenaline, every joint in his body begging him to _move_ , to get away, to run.

He’d always been faster than Kaoru and Kyoya. He's always been more prone to fight his way into issues, and run out of them.

“Shit,” Hikaru cursed under his breath as he spotted a crumbled cliff of sort, just small enough to get over.

“Kaoru!” He shouted, watching as Kaoru’s pace got quicker, his sprints so wide Hikaru (and Kyoya) was worried he would fall.

Kaoru ran to the wall, bending his knees slightly, resting his palms on it. He looked to Hikaru, smirking immediately to find him in a sprinting stance.

Hikaru smirked back, before running as fast as he could, before jumping high and lifting his right leg to jump onto Kaoru’s shoulder.

His foot hit Kaoru’s shoulder with a worrying ‘ _thump_ ’. Quickly, Hikaru put his left foot in front of him, ready to land.

He landed peacefully, thanking the lords and anyone else watching that his ankle didn’t twist in an awkward way.

He could count more than ten times that happened to both him and Kaoru. It was worrying every time, and Hikaru was thankful that they had Kyoya who was good at first aid.

Kyoya on the other hand, was always immaculate at everything he did.

It pissed Hikaru off. It wasn't fair, and it just made his place in Kaoru's life even more like dead weight. Hikaru gave nothing to the two of them.

And anyway. Kaoru deserved perfect as in, ‘I’m-so-pure-and-I’m-going-to-heaven!’, not ‘I-do-everything-perfectly-with-a-stupid-ugly-smirk’ perfect.

Kyoya moved to the wall and adopted the same position as Kaoru, knowing Kaoru couldn’t hold his weight.

Rapidly, Kaoru did the same thing as Hikaru, but held his arms out.

Kaoru was more likely to fuck up, with those flimsy ankles he had.

Hikaru immediately took hold of Kaoru’s hands, feeling the soft but worn out leather in his fingers. He pulled Kaoru to the grass, one of his hands still holding Kaoru’s hand tightly.

Ignoring Kaoru’s tugging to the cliff, he pulled Kaoru towards the forest area.

This was Hikaru's chance to stay in Kaoru's life. It was his opportunity to not get thrown away for someone as immaculate as Kyoya. It meant that Kaoru wasn't going to toss him aside for the perfect crime marriage life, it meant that he was going to stay his brother, going to stay as someone important to Kaoru. It meant that he wasn't going to be left behind. 

“Hika,” Kaoru commented, confused, his feet seemingly stuck to the ground.

“Come on, Kaoru!” Hikaru yelled in haste, his heart feeling jabs of guilt as he saw Kaoru realise what he meant. Kaoru stepped backwards, his face showing doubt.

He didn’t believe what Hikaru was trying to do. He didn’t want to.

Not after the chat they had just twenty minutes ago.

Ignoring Hikaru’s tugs, Kaoru let go of Hikaru’s hand and clasped Kyoya’s.

Frantically he tried to pull Kyoya up, his eyes shut determinedly and his feet wobbly.

It was obvious he wasn’t going to pull Kyoya up.

Kyoya scrambled his feet against the hill regardless, his head turning to see the palace guards closing in on them.

He was worried, you could see it on his face. When Kyoya was worried, you knew it was bad.

“Hikaru! Help me!” Kaoru yelled, pulling onto Kyoya’s arm as the cliff crumbled underneath Kyoya’s boots.

Hikaru patted Kaoru’s back lightly, ignoring the painful stabs of guilt.

He’d finally get rid of Kyoya now. But he couldn’t shake off the guilt with it.

Would Kaoru ever forgive him for this?

Well, he had to, didn’t he?

“Come on Kaoru. He’s not going to make it.” Hikaru told him, his tone suggesting that he’d done everything he could. His throat forcing down the bile that was welling in his throat. Kyoya was someone he respected, someone he cared for as a friend.

He was leaving him here. He was being selfish, he was allowing himself to be selfish.

It pissed Kaoru off to no end, because he knew, he knew exactly what Hikaru's thoughts were. He knew how selfish Hikaru was being, and after everything, he didn't think Hikaru would ever do this to him. He'd always thought that he had come first in Hikaru's world.

Hikaru was always first in his. Maybe he had to share the spot with Kyoya now, but that never changed.

Kaoru’s mouth clenched uncomfortably, sub-consciously aware of the death drip forming on Kyoya’s hands.

“He will fucking make it if you help me!” Kaoru yelled, his eyes widening in anger, his hands frantically tugging at Kyoya.

Hikaru didn’t reply, but lightly looped his fingers in the belts around Kaoru’s chest before tugging at it abruptly.

Kaoru’s anger boiled into desperation, his face clearly showing despair.

Hikaru stepped back, feeling a dagger to his heart.

Was this the right thing to do after all? No, he wasn't, he knew that from the start.

“Please, Hika. For me,” Kaoru pleaded, his grip lightening on Kyoya, and his mouth forming a light smile.

He really believed Hikaru would help them in the end.

It made Hikaru want to puke with guilt.

Hikaru’s lips squished together stubbornly, making a strange noise. He didn’t how or why he made that noise, but it clearly showed Kaoru that he wasn’t going to move, so he counted it as a win.

Suddenly, Kaoru lifted one of his legs and tilted it sideways before giving Hikaru a hard kick, sending him to the ground.

Hikaru stumbled across the grass, transfixed with shock.

Kaoru had never hurt him in malice before.

Not ever.

“I’m not leaving without him. So get your sorry ass off the ground and help me.” Kaoru demanded, leaning over Hikaru, in a way, which even scared Hikaru.

Hikaru gave him a stubborn gaze, silently praising himself that it didn’t break. Because, damn, did he want to break it, did he want to tug Kyoya up from the wall and hug him into oblivion.

Kaoru’s eyes were fucking creepy. Hikaru could hardly move.

“I’m going to fucking kill you when I get up there,” Kyoya shouted from the bottom of the pit, his voice sounding like it was from the pits of hell.

Hikaru’s confidence came back to him in the matter of seconds, his head tilting upwards in defence. His eyebrows furrowed and his mouth curled in disgust. his anger was back, twisting everything and making things messed and ugly.

“Well you’re not ever going to get up, so good luck!” Hikaru mocked, his eyes closing in attempt to forget about Kaoru’s deadly stare.

“Well, then you can piss off, away from us.” Kaoru added, making Hikaru freeze with shock.

What was he saying? He wasn’t-

He couldn’t be telling him to leave, right?

“W-What are saying Kaoru?” Hikaru asked nervously, his speech stumbling as he rose to his feet abruptly.

He couldn’t believe it. Kaoru was choosing that glasses wearing freak over him. He never actually thought it would come to this.

It was something that he always thought about, always worried about, constantly tried to think of solutions too. But, spending time thinking about it, and it actually happening: was something.

It broke Hikaru the way he knew it would, but so much more than he had expected.

They spent their whole life together, get through their parents death, worked together, hurt together- they did everything together.

And what did all that come down to?

Kaoru picking his shitty boyfriend, over his brother. Over his own twin. Or was it him? Was it his fault Kaoru was doing this to him?

Well, either way, Kaoru was a bastard. Who had perfect reason to abandon him, had every motive down to the detail. 

“I’m telling you to leave,” Kaoru commented, his mouth turning into a frown and his breath becoming erratic.

Not taking another glance to Hikaru, Kaoru turned back to Kyoya and tried to pull him up one last time, before it was clear to them that it was all over. Hikaru was over, he had nothing else.

The guards had already spotted them. Were already coming closer, already trying to get their hands onto the two of them.

And Hikaru was already gone.


	3. Sinking Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was a strange feeling, guilt. Hikaru had never felt it fully before, only in tiny sparks that didn't effect him at all. Though now, guilt was seeping through his body like a hurricane. His fingers felt like they were on fire, itching to rip a layer of skin off the palms of his hands. His heart heavy like a weight, pulling him down. The salty tears falling down his face like a waterfall, making his throat choke audibly. He'd always read stories about guilt and it's effects. He'd never imagined it to be this bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wanted to get more done, but i really like the description in this one.

Hikaru ran through the forest, his feet stumbling across the floor and his breathing erratic. He could hardly believe what just happened.

He just left his brother alone. With the guards he swore to protect Kaoru from.

He stopped abruptly, his guilt taking over his body and his hands on his knees as he looked to the floor.

His nails dug into his knees as he ran over the past moments. He could still hear Kaoru’s shouting in his head, even though he was far away. He could still hear the desperation in his voice, and the scrambling of Kyoya’s feet.

He couldn’t see Kyoya, but if he could, Hikaru was sure it wasn’t pretty. He wasn't even interested in seeing Kyoya ruffled and without his usual calm. He wanted to burn the image out of his brain.

Hikaru let out a deep breath, trying to distract him from the flashing images in his head. Kaoru’s desperate eyes, begging him to help him. The creepy stance Kaoru took to blackmail him to help. The polished white horses moving closer, and spears in Hikaru’s sight of vision.

Hikaru couldn’t get them out of his head.

He lifted his head up quickly, his arm falling to his sides and his breathing now normal. This was not the time to be freaking out. He had to find somewhere to stay.

They would have got out of it anyway. They always did.

Hika opened his eyes slowly, taking in where the hell he’d randomly ran to. He sighed heavily when in front of him was nothing but a large lake. A dead end.

A beautiful dead end though. The grass under his feet was the bright green and longest strands he’d seen in his life. Occasionally, Hikaru spotted beautiful colourful flowers within the long grass. And the lake, was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. It was huge, and covered most of the area. It was a deep blue, hints of turquoise blue. The sun reflected it in the best way, the light shining on the strangely calm water. Strange ripples, exaggerated by the shine of the sun. It seemed magical, in a strange way.

Hikaru walked towards the water, strangely pulled in by it. It was like every nerve on his body was aching to touch the water. It was as if, every single bad thing he’d done in his life, could be redeemed by this one touch.

It was stupid. But, for that one moment, he truly believed it.

He knelt down to the water, his hand extended outwards in the most peaceful way. He let out a deep breath when the water came in contact to his skin, the water at a cool temperature. He let the water run down his skin, suddenly captivated by it.

His face leant closer to it, his legs crossing under his thighs on the grass. He closed his eyes slowly, the water making him feel oddly sleepy. The adrenaline that recently cursed through his veins was disappearing into something more peaceful. He felt at ease, like everything was good with the world.

It felt as if everything had come up to this. Every horrible feeling he had, every bad memory and sin, could disappear. His whole life could be purified. Everything could be forgiven. He could be a free man. A pure man. It was taking over him, but he didn’t mind. He would gladly let it, if it could make this horrific guilt disappear.

“Hey! You need to wake up!” A distant voice called to Hikaru, disturbing the cooling feeling he could feel throughout his body. He scrawled, trying to push it out of his mind, the cool feeling coming back.

“Don’t shut me out! Wake up! You need to wake up!” The voice called again, this time stronger and louder, the sinking feeling of guilt sweeping through Hikaru’s body.

He wanted to get rid of that pesky voice. That one source stopping him from destroying the guilt he’d held since he was fifteen.

“Shut up!” Hikaru shouted, trying to get rid of the voice. But instead, he did the opposite. The guilt came crashing down onto him, harder than before. The coolness on his skin as still there, but it was no longer giving him relief. It was no longer helping him.

Suddenly, he felt a body on top of him, their arms wrapped around his body. Hikaru opened his eyes quickly, looking down at the head on his chest. His vision felt like it was being invaded by the bright blonde hair blocking everything else. Immediately, he tried to scramble away, but found his hands on the edge of the lake. That’s also when he realised his clothes were wet, droplets dropping down his face from his hair.

“W-What’s going on?” Hikaru asked, panicking and trying to get the person off of him. But his legs were dead, and if he moved his hands he’d tumble deep into the water. He bit his lip repeatedly, who was this person? Why were they hugging him? Where was he just then?

Had he been drugged? Had someone caught him while he was at the lake?

Suddenly, the head on his chest lifted, facing Hikaru. Her face was almost mirroring Hikaru’s, crimpled with fear and worry.

“Thank you,” The girl mumbled, placing her hands on Hikaru’s shoulders. Hikaru’s shoulders shivered and moved, trying to pry her off of him. He didn’t know who this girl was, but she sure was acting strange.

Yet, Hikaru felt at ease with her. It was strange, and Hikaru wanted to get away regardless.

“Thank you for listening to me,” She mumbled, her eyes calming and warm, as well as her hands.

Hikaru’s face dropped as soon as he realised what she was on about. Now that he thought about it, she sounded like that guy speaking to him. No. Their voices were exactly the same.

“What’s going on?” Hikaru asked, his voice trying to be as cold as ice, but falling to anxiety. He was trying so hard to be calm. But how on earth could you be calm when a person you’ve never met before, has literally spoke to you in your head.

It was impossible. Utterly crazy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MAGICAL RIVERS~~~~~


	4. Blushy Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finding people attractive was something Hikaru was a victim to on a daily basis. He was always walking down the street, his eyes stuck to an ass or a beautiful set of eyes instead of the road in front of him. It wasn't unusual for him to have fleeting crushes. He never stayed long enough to even speak to the person. But finding someone cute, was something that he was definitely not used to. It made his cheeks bloom and his body quick and fidgety. He didn't like it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cuties hugginggg

The girl stood up before holding out a hand to Hikaru, with a soft smile. Hikaru took it nervously, surprised by the rough calluses on her fingers and palm. It was strange for such a pretty girl to have harsh calluses like that.

Slowly, Hika pulled himself up with the girl’s hand, before letting it go immediately. He couldn’t trust himself not to rub at the calluses and wonder. He couldn’t trust himself to not let his eyes wander to her soft smile. He couldn’t trust that his angry state wouldn’t falter at her ostensibly soft blonde hair.

“Who are you?” Hikaru asked, ignoring the slight bubbling in his stomach and attraction for the girl in front of him. He couldn’t crumble under her presence, even if she was the cutest thing he’d ever seen.  

He knew all too well how appearances could differ from personalities, having Kaoru for a brother and all.

He had seen the soft smiles Kaoru would give the homophobic fucks before kicking them hard in the stomach. He had seen the soft hugs turn into crushing head-locks and threats. He had even done the flirty speeches, which soon turned into a knife to the throat.

He couldn’t trust this girl at all, at least until he saw the worst side of her.

With their line of work, that’s the only way the twins (and Kyoya, but Hikaru didn’t give a shit about Kyoya) judged people. And no one really judged them, after the upbringing they’d had.

The girl blushed slightly, her mouth curling into an embarrassed smile and her index finger at the bottom of her lower lip.

“Grandma told me not to tell anyone about myself,” She mumbled, her gaze dropping to the ground in embarrassment.

Hikaru felt his heart beat a little faster, as he watched as she shuffled her feet nervously and avoided Hikaru’s face.

If she was acting, she sure was doing an amazing job.

“Erm, okay.” Hikaru replied, knowing that he’d feel guilty if he pressed her anymore. And Hikaru had way too much guilt with what happened just a few moments ago. He definitely didn’t need anymore.

Hikaru stood awkwardly, his head moving from left to right, wondering what he should do. The girl was still standing in front of him, her feet now still but her head still to the ground. Her hands were now clasped against her chest tightly around her body. It seemed as if she was thinking hard, or trying to push Hikaru out of her mind.

Somehow, Hikaru thought, it must be the second. No one but Kaoru wanted him around. Well. After what he’d done now. Nobody wanted him around.

“But, you seem like a good person. Despite what Grandma says. So, I think I’ll believe myself for once,” She announced suddenly, making Hikaru jump and squeak slightly.

Hikaru blushed at the noise that came from his mouth and crossed his arms across his chest defensively, trying to make out as if it never happened. But of course, the girl was not stupid, and had definitely noticed.

She chuckled lightly, her voice deep and could easily be mistaken for a boy with a slightly high voice. Her eyes gazed at Hikaru’s endearingly, and Hikaru felt the exact same thing he did in the river. Waves of warmth.

And Hikaru wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to hang around with her. She made him feel strange things. Things he’d only felt for the art painted across Kaoru’s sketch pads and the floors of the towns.

“You’re so cute,” She announced, smile widely to Hikaru in a way that made him want to reassess everything that happened up to this point, and question everything that postponed their meeting.

He had a feeling about what this feeling was. But you’re crazy if you think he’d admit it.

“Am not,” Hikaru mumbled, a pout forming on his face when he heard her chuckle more.

“You are! You are!” She sang, stepping forward to pull Hikaru into an awkward hug. Hikaru stiffened up immediately, his eyes widening as she leant her head on Hikaru’s shoulder and squeezed him tightly before swinging him around a little.

Hikaru’s voice stuttered a little but let the girl swing him from side to side, slowly leaning into the touch. She was soft and warm, and Hikaru didn’t have the mind to resist. Her voice was soothing and her breath was light on the side of his neck. Her arms wrapped around him tightly, but never rough. Her hair was as soft as Hikaru imagined, the hair slightly tickling his neck. Nothing about her was harsh or cruel.

And Hikaru thought, that for once, someone was exactly what you saw on the surface.

“You can let go now,” Hikaru grumbled, internally sighing at the composer of his voice.

The girl squeezes him tightly before completely letting go, making Hikaru frown at the loss of warmth and security. Even though, he was the one who wanted her to let go in the first place.

“So what’s your name?” She asks, her face bright like the sun, yet soft like a pillow and secure like a wall.

Hikaru bites his lip hard, his heart eagerly wanting to tell her everything about his childhood and everything after that, but his brain actually being tactful and smart.

“Tell me yours first,” Hika ordered childishly, his oath to be more like an adult and make better decisions (in which he decided after the ‘getting-Kyoya-captured’ thing), trashed in the matter of minutes.

“Nope!” The girl said with a pout and a shake of her head. Her arms wrapped around her chest defensively, almost copying Hikaru’s exact position.

But, of course, she looked so so so much cuter doing it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tamaki will stop being called 'the girl' in the next chapter. promisee


	5. Awe-Struck Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hikaru had never met girls as cute as this. It was taking a toll on him, making him turn into a mushy trifle. His mind wandered to stupid thoughts about her body and how much her voice sounded like slick. It was making him distracted and vulnerable to attack. Though there was not much he could do about it, not with his mind wrapped around her strong fingers. He couldn't even think right, never mind stop her effects. She was magic, she had to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep wanting to get more done in chapters, but I end up not getting any new information in the chapters. It's annoying.

The girl took Hikaru’s hands gently, her hands soft and warm against Hikaru’s own. He blinked quickly in shock, his hand being pulled by her strong one.

His eyes wandered to her long blonde hair in front of her. His lips parted as he noticed the streaks of bright blue and red in her hair, the contrast beautiful against her pale skin and fair hair. The plaits swung at her hips, Hikaru’s eyes following them to the bottom, where the dyed hair was the most obvious and brightest. They stopped at the lower part of her thighs, the dress slightly see through and tighter around her body.

Hikaru knew he should have looked away, he should have. But he couldn’t, not when her legs took steps forward, the outline of loose muscles in his sight. Her dress slid over her legs perfectly, tight at the top and middle of her thighs, before flaring outwards elegantly.

Hikaru admired both her figure and the wonderfully made dress. He smiled softly, seeing the tight stitches at the sides of the girl’s thighs, showing the hard work of the dress and a clear picture of her thigh. It was like dipping a photograph in a purple paint, nothing was left for the imagination. Hikaru could even see a light brown freckle right next to the stitches of the dress.

“Can you climb?” She asked softly, pulling Hikaru out of his trance as he realised she’d let go of his hand. His head shot up immediately with a blush, her face a few feet away from him.

Her eyes scanned him slowly, her head tilting to the side in wonder. She held out a hand hesitantly, giving Hikaru time to pull away, before resting her hand on his cheek.

“You’re hot, are you okay?” She asked, a worried and hurt look on her face. It puzzled Hikaru. It actually looked like she was in pain from Hikaru’s (supposed) pain. Hikaru had heard of empathy, but this was ridiculous.

But, in an adorable ridiculous way.

Hikaru had seen kindness. He’d seen his brother give Kyoya half of his food, despite the fact that he was stick thin and hungry. He’d seen children playing in the streets, giving each other flowers and roses. He had seen workers at the pub, slapping each other on the back lovingly.

But the only kindness directed to him, was from Kaoru. And he had to love and care for him. They were brothers, and that’s what brothers did.

It bubbled his heart, feeling genuine kindness towards him. It was boiling even more than before. Soon, Hikaru was sure he’d pass out from the swirly cute feeling pooling in his stomach.

He didn’t want to stop this feeling, but at the same time he did. He was losing is mind slowly, he could feel it. He didn’t want to lose his mind, but at the same time he did.

It felt so liberating, so free to feel this way. Yet, he felt strange, really strange. Like this girl was going to tear his insides out with a certain obliviousness that made sure Hikaru couldn’t hate her.

“Yeah. I can climb,” Hikaru replied to her previous question, ignoring the hand on his cheek burning into his skin.

The girl smiled lightly, taking the hand off of Hikaru’s cheek and walking to the huge tower in front of them. Hikaru hadn’t even noticed it towering above of him. Not when her hand smoothed over his cheek softly as if he was glass.

“You think you can climb up there?” She asks concerned, pointing to the cliffs surrounding the area. Hikaru gulped audibly. The cliffs were as huge as the tower, with small footsteps that Hikaru doubted he could climb.

He stepped towards the cliff carefully, holding out a hand to touch the rocks. He pressed his hands down onto it, trying to test how much weight it could hold. Hikaru jumped on the tiny layers of the rock, deeming it safe once he’d jumped on it repetitively.

Looking back to the girl, he gasped loudly before jumping down from the cliff. He couldn’t see her all that well from where he was standing, but what he could see, he didn’t like. She looked as if she was in pain, her eyebrows scrunched in pain and her hands pulling at her hair.

“Hey! The fuck are you doing?” Hikaru yelled, making the girl open her eyes in shock, her hands loosening from her hair.

“I’m going to the tower, just like you are, but a different way.” She explained, shuffling so that Hikaru could see what she was doing. Hikaru walked closer towards her, curious to what she was doing and why.

Her hair was tied in strong knots from the base of her neck, her hair now a ball in her fingers. In her other hand, was a medium size hook coming from the sky. Hikaru looked up to see that the hook was attached to the tower where a small balcony (of sorts) was located.

His mouth clenched as he realised how she’d get up there. How she had to get up there every single time.

She would have to attach her beautiful hair to the hook, while she walked up the wall with bare feet. She would have to pull on the ropes with her hands, frantically trying to release the pressure from her head, until her hands were red and sore.

She had to do that all the way until she was at the tiny balcony that was easy to miss of fall from. It made Hikaru mad, really mad.

“You’re not going up like that. Climb onto my back, I’ll take you,” Hikaru commanded, watching as the girl widened her eyes in shock before giving him a wide smile.

She drooped her hair from her hands, the plaits immediately unravelling from the knots they were put in. She walked up to Hikaru with a spring in her step, her purple eyes shining with happiness and hand held out for a hand shake.

“I’m Tamaki. Thank you for the offer…person who refuses to tell me his name,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have two questions, which if you could answer in the comments, would help me a lot:  
> Should I make the chapters longer? (probably less updates, maybe. i dunno)  
> 


	6. Mean Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hikaru had finally got out of the trance Tamaki had put on him, his personality bursting through the mushy trifle surrounding his body. He'd hoped that once he'd got hold of himself, things would be back to normal, and the fuzziness in his chest would dissappear as if it'd never happened. Though it didn't. It developed further, her acceptance of his playful behaviour egging him on, more than discouraging him. Hikaru couldn't control his heart, and Tamaki wasn't helping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i should read this through and edit and stuff, but im so desperate to update, so ill update now. feel free to correct anything on any chapters, it helps.

Hikaru braced himself against the wall, Tamaki’s body across his body, her legs wrapped around his sides and her arms crossed loosely across his neck. She was heavier than Hikaru expected, her weight pulling him down.

Somehow, he had a stupid thought that she’d feel like a pillow across his back, hugging him in all the right places. Yet she felt more like glass: fragile and smooth. She was strong and steady against his back. She was cold against Hikaru’s bare skin, her fingers ghosting over his collarbone. Her thighs smooth and strong against his waist, her feet across his abdomen tightly.  Like a pillar or a statue, she would not crack without malice.

Hikaru decided that it was much better than pillows. The feeling of her stable body clinging to his, relying on him to put her on her pedestal. Even though, Hikaru knew for sure, she could get there herself. She was relying on him, trusting him with her breakable glass. Trusting him with her life.

“Onward!” Tamaki yelled her voice playful. Her lips were pressed into a determined frown, her eyebrows furrowed mockingly. Her legs slightly tighter across Hikaru as she raised a hand from his neck and balled it up into a fist into the air.

Hikaru yelped in surprise at the inconsistent of her personality. He stumbled backwards slightly, his knees breaking momentarily before straightening again.

“Hika!” Tamaki yelled in shock, her arms wrapping around Hikaru’s neck tightly, her legs slipping downwards on Hikaru’s body. She let out a sigh as Hikaru’s hands pushed her upwards, securing her legs around Hikaru’s body once again. She leaned her face into Hikaru’s neck, her breath heavy against Hikaru’s skin.

It was beautiful contrast. The cool fingers around his neck at the shoulders, and the hot short breaths against Hikaru’s neck. Hikaru felt guilty about it, but he couldn’t deny it. It felt nice.

“I got you,” Hikaru replied, a grin spread across his face with his hands tight around Tama’s thighs. His fingers rubbed unconsciously across her thighs, stopping as soon as he realised.

“You could have dropped me!” Tamaki whined, her face finally pulling away from Hikaru’s neck. Hikaru sighed lightly, the heat on his neck replaced with a dull emptiness.

He had half a mind to push his head backwards, just so he could feel her breath on his skin.

Tamaki subtly pushed her legs closer to Hikaru, almost encouraging him to continue caressing her. But, with Hikaru being Hikaru, he didn’t notice at all. But kept his fingers still, trying to avoid making Tama uncomfortable.

“But I didn’t,” Hikaru teased, his grin getting wider as Tamaki’s hands stayed on his shoulders, relaxing completely. Hikaru almost wanted to drop her again. What with the adorable way she was acting. 

“Hikaru! Stop it!” Tamaki yelled, her endearing tone making his words un-effective to Hikaru. Who had (you guessed it) drooped Tamaki before scooping her up before she fell to the ground.

“Okay, okay. But,” Hikaru starts before putting Tamaki down to the fall lightly, waiting enough for her to step down.

“Why do we need to climb this big ass cliff in the first place? Haven’t you and your ‘ma heard of stairs? Or are you just stupid?” He asked, turning to Tamaki with a confused look. He meant it completely seriously, no malice intended. He didn’t even realise it could be interrupted in that way.

He had only had Kaoru to communicate with for his whole life. Kaoru was never offended when Hikaru said things like this (which is more often than not). He’d never even bothered to tell Hikaru what he was doing wrong. He never needed to.

And it wasn’t like either of them had planned what had happened. Hikaru was still reeling from guilt now.

Tamaki tilted her head to the side, matching the confusion on Hika’s face. She tangled her fingers together slowly in irritation as Hikaru kept the eye contact. He looked completely serious. It made Tamaki tingle with annoyance.

It was going so well, until the red haired beauty opened his stupid fucking mouth.

“What?” Tamaki asked, her voice squeaking with anger. Her arms were straightened out tightly, her fists balled as she clenched her teeth visibly.

“Well, stairs are just common sense aren’t they? Instead of fucking knotting your hair to get up some crappy tower. Not the mention the ugly brick work this ‘building’- if you can even call it a building, that is,” Hikaru adds, his eyes widening as Tamaki edged closer to him with her feet stomping and hands gripping her dress tightly.

Hikaru stepped back a couple steps, fear bubbling in his stomach as he watched Tamaki come closer. He knew there was more to her than her adorable exterior. But then again, she still looked cute as fuck now.

Well, either way, her stance was putting him in a state of unease.

“That’s so rude! Weren’t you taught fucking manors? How would you like it if someone said that to you!” Tamaki yelled, her voice squeaking in every single way, ranging from a deep rage to a squeaky mouse.

Hikaru tried to stop himself from laughing, clasping a hand tightly across his mouth and puffing out his cheeks. Rendering prevention useless, he let his hand fall from his mouth and hunched forward. His hands rested at his stomach as he laughed, his sight going from Tamaki’s angry expression to the grass beneath him.

He jumped a little as his back collided with the wall, Tamaki cornering him with her scary (but cute) face. He blushed both at the proximity of each other and the extensive laughing, before standing up when Tamaki gave him a serious look.

“How would you feel if someone said that to you? My grandma means a lot to me if you must know!” She yelled a little quieter than before, her tone completely rational and normal. Somehow, when she was speaking to him like this, Hikaru couldn’t bear to ignore or do anything but listen intently.

Hikaru remained silent, staring at the features of her face as she spoke. The way her mouth slightly twitched to one side when she spoke, and the puffy checks that structured her face nicely. He could see the hairs curving at her jaw, outlining the strong jawline she had.

“I don’t know any of that.” Hikaru replied the underlying meaning 'I don't care' clearly expressed and shown. His eyes fixed on her chapped lips, which twitched every couple of seconds to either puff outwards or inwards. Hikaru couldn’t peel his eyes off of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is so hikaru. i love it.


	7. Weak Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hikaru was in too deep, and he knew it. He knew how much trouble he'd got himself into, the kind of hole he'd dug for himself. He knew the risks, he knew the problems. Yet here he was, lusting over a girl that was probably crazy and wanting to kill him. He knew all too well how contradictory people's personalities could be. He knew how dangerous this girl could potentially be. Yet, here he is. Wanting her like a moth to a flame.

“There is one other way to get up there,” Tamaki mumbled, her look elsewhere and arms crossed across her chest defensively. She was undeniably angry and fed up with Hikaru’s bullshit, yet Hikaru himself still couldn’t get the idea that she looked absolutely adorable.

Hikaru was worried he’d become addicted to the angry pout planted on her lips. He was scared his hands were going to betray him and reach for her face, in effort to pull her lips into a smile. He was scared of even looking at her for a second, worried that his usually stiff heart would fall from his chest. It was strange what a beautiful girl could do to him. What a beautiful boy could do to him. But this felt different this time, like it would stay. He didn’t like it.

“Why didn’t you mention that before?” Hikaru snarled, his tone to soft to scare her, but too harsh to make her whip her head back to glare. Damn. Even her glare was the cutest. Her eyebrows were like little blond arrows above her eyes, pointing to her nose menacingly, and her eyes wide and strong. Her cheeks bright with a rose red and puffed out and lips pressed together in a tight line.

Hikaru couldn’t explain exactly why he found it so infuriatingly cute. All he knew was that he wanted to grab her cheeks in his palms and rub his thumbs over his lips, slowly pulling her mouth into a smile.

It was terribly cheesy and choking. He felt ashamed almost. He was like Kaoru and Kyoya, and it shot him like bullets. He never wanted to be compared to Kyoya and his stupid face, ever. Even now, he hated his guts. After everything Hikaru had done to them, everything was still Kyoya’s fault.

“I wanted to know something about the stranger venturing in my house,” Tamaki stated, turning her whole body to Hikaru, her face stiff with anger. Hikaru knew he’d struck a nerve, but he didn’t think she’d take it that much to heart. Just how much power did this ‘grand-mother’ have over Tamaki?

“You could’ve just asked,” Hikaru grumbled, his eyes locking with Tamaki’s, trying to savour the moment. Who knew how long it would last? What with the fuckup he’d made with his brother and his boyfriend. Who knew when he would do something stupid? Hikaru certainly didn’t.

“I did. You refused,” Tamaki argued, her eyes battling Hikaru’s with an intensity that made Hikaru feel as if he was an ice cube in the sun. Her eyelashes refused to flutter, her eyes dry and begging to close.

Hikaru didn’t feel as if he would melt because of the intensity, he could handle the intensity. His whole life was a train wreck of contradictory emotions and personalities. He did have Kaoru for a brother after all.

“Good point,” Hikaru stated, a huff of breath breaking the atmosphere, his attitude stiffly calm. His hands wandering at his legs that was meant to be relaxed, but looked nervous and twitchy. His eyes wandering over to the lake, his mind wandering from Tamaki to how in the hell he got here in the first place.

There was no entrance or exit so far as he could see, and for all he knew, this beautiful ’Tamaki’ could have kidnapped him to eat his guts. Yet still, Hikaru trusted her. He needed help with crushes.

“What’s this other ‘way’ then?” Hikaru asked with a bored tone, his lips curling into an uninterested frown. For the moment, he needed to act as uninterested as possible, he was deep enough. He didn’t need stupid feelings deceiving him. He didn’t need being cooked alive, or worse, going to jail.

“Well, it requires a certain circumstance?” Tamaki offered, pulling a strand of blue from the loose plaits and looking to Hikaru sympathetically.

For the first time since getting here (by however means) Hikaru was genuinely scared for his life. The hairs on his arms stood up and Tamaki reached him with a face that was both menacing and soft. It terrified him. It terrified him how quickly people could change and form contradictory personalities. Even though himself, was just as bad.

Tamaki ran her hands through the strand softly, her finger stopping when she reached the middle. She looked to Hikaru with a purely sympathetic look, mouthing a ‘sorry’ before clenching her fingers around the hair.

Hikaru’s eyes widened as the hair glowed between her fingers, the nails turning a deep red. He gulped audibly, his feet taking a step backwards and his eyes the size of golf balls. His eyes never left Tamaki as she raised her other hand, the nails a deep blue and beautiful contrast to the electric blue strand. The other hand split the strands apart, revealing a blue abyss of sorts.

Hikaru’s back slouched as his head suddenly began to feel heavy, his palm touching his forehead to find that it was burning. He pulled his hand off his head slowly, his eyes half closing, still focused on the craziness of what Tamaki was doing. Hikaru sighed softly before his knees gave out, his eyes fluttering closed and body slumping forward to the floor.

“Huh?” Tamaki yelped as she spotted Hikaru slump on the floor with his ass in the air. She pressed her lips together in disappointment before diverting her attention to her fore-arm in the blue void. She bit her lip as she pulled her hand out, pulling the frying pan out with it.

She hadn’t expected that Hikaru would have been so weak hearted. She thought he’d be the opposite, adjusting to the situation as quickly as he did when he first got here. That’s why she opted for the frying pan in the first place.

Somehow she knew Hikaru would be a tough cookie to crack, and gain trust from. She thought it’d be best to knock him out, just for a while, just so she could carry him up the tower. Then she’d explain everything when he’d calmed down. That was a good plan right? 

* * *

 

Hikaru woke up abruptly to the sound of a piano, his hands gripping the chair and his eyes widening to adapt to his environment. His eyes scanned the room quickly. All across the room was a bed of roses adorning the floor, consisting of many colours, but mostly red or white. His lips pressed against each other, thinking back to what had happened before he’d got here.

His stomach pooled with dread as he remembered Tamaki, and her manipulative ways of getting Hikaru to do what she liked. He gulped audibly as he realised all of his mistakes, from even saying ‘hello’ to the odd woman. From continuing to communicate to her, even after she attempted to reach a tower by attaching a hook to her scalp.

His eyes wandered to the wall frantically, finding them bare, with only grey bricks present. His neck twisted sideways as much as he could, spotting a large black piano to the side of the room. His mouth made a scared and hesitant noise as he saw the bright blonde hair.

Hikaru’s mind wandered backwards to the sight of her blue hair, and the hand diving into her hand as if it was another universe. His eyebrows scrunched in attempt to understand it, his scientific brain trying to analyse it, but finding no answers. It made no sense. No one could dive into their hair. No one could achieve that level of brightness and intensity he felt. No one could mirror the deep moving swirls of her finger tips as the hair glowed, forming nail polish on her fingers that wasn’t there before. As well as the fact that each hand had a different colour, seemingly matching the highlights of her hair.

It didn’t make sense. And honestly, Hikaru wasn’t sure whether he wanted the explanation.

His breath hitched as he heard footsteps, the mop of blonde hair rising to show her beautiful face. She smiled to him softly, her eyes giving off an expression of an apology coming. Hikaru hated how his heart beat a little faster.

“I’m sorry about the whole…violence thing,” She said as she walked to Hikaru, grabbing a glass of water and ham and cheese sandwich on the way. She stopped abruptly in front of Hikaru, her face displaying her respect o Hikaru’s personal space.

Hikaru pushed his neck toward the back of the chair in surprise, he’d expected a threat or something of the sort. Yet her voice was as sweet as ever, and her actions twice as much so.

Though, he still couldn’t let his guard down. How many people had Kaoru fooled with his pretty smiles? Hikaru could say for sure that Kaoru had broken many hearts on the basis that he wanted a ‘fuck’. He could also say that he did the same.

“What. What was that?” Hikaru asked, his voice not as strong as usual and his hand steadily pointing to one of the blue strands in Tamaki’s hair. Her face dropped almost immediately, dropping down to place the plate on the floor. She looked to Hikaru with the same smile, handing him the glass of water.

He smiled back gingerly, his nerves still through the roof, though his instincts told him she was a good person. But with what his instincts were doing to his life lately, he didn’t trust them at all.

Hikaru took the glass from Tamaki’s hands carefully, his eyes fleeting to his torso before he frowned. He took a large gulp from the water in effort to escape reality for a moment, before looking to Tamaki and pointing to his torso.

“And what is this?” Hikaru said with a solid voice, silently praising himself for it. His chest bloated outwards as he felt the strain on his chest, though every faintly. Hikaru was surprised he hadn’t realised it sooner, though thought it was because of the low restrictions on his chest.

Tamaki ghosted her hand over Hikaru’s knee, asking if it was okay with her eyes. She seemed genuine, and honestly, Hikaru was fed up of trying anymore.

It’d just been a shit day for him today. If it had only been a day that is. For all he knew, it could have been a month from when he saw Kaoru. For all he knew, Kaoru could have been hung for his crimes along with Kyoya’s crummy body.

Hikaru rolled his eyes, ruling out the possibility quickly. He didn’t need any more guilt rocks resting on his shoulders as if they grew from his back. He didn’t need a stronger grappling pull on his stomach. He just needed it to go away. He needed the feeling to go away, not get worse.

He needed to think positively. He needed to know that Kaoru was fine. He needed to know that Kaoru was living. He needed to know that Kaoru was happy, whether it was with that bastard Kyoya or not. He needed to know that he wasn’t hated by his own brother, who had took care of him when no one else could. When no one else would.

Tamaki placed her hand on Hikaru’s knee lightly, shuffling to cross her legs underneath the chair. She stopped smiling as soon as she grabbed eye contact with Hikaru. It was serious and strict. It was almost the complete opposite of everything else Hikaru had previously seen, excluding the part when she made her own universe with a blue strand of hair and a hand.

She leaned forward slightly, her mouth close to his ear. So close that her breath was on his skin, making the hairs behind Hikaru’s ears stand up slightly. He cursed in his head, this girl could potentially be a murder, and here he is, wanting to kiss her all over.

“I knew my Grandma would be home by the time we’d got up here, I know you don’t understand how bad that is, but please trust me. I’ll tell you everything once she’s gone, okay?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i still didn't fucking explain anything.  
> HOPEFULLY the next chapters will actually explain whats going on with the magic and that. as well as who Tamaki is and why on earth he has blue/red/blonde hair?? i know the first few chapters have been a little bit all over the place (tbh its just this one and that's because of the description) but i do hope you will continue reading it, and i promise this will get better. ive got loads of cutesy ideas for the two as well as heavy descriptions of Hikaru's lil' Bi heart.


	8. Infatutated Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Every inch of his skin seemed to sparkle and twinkle as if he was made of stardust, and Hikaru had no doubts that Tamaki was made by Gods, or something so extraordinary that his mind screamed ‘illogical’!

Tamaki swung her legs softly, her hands gripping the sides of the piano as her grandmother walked towards her. Her lips curling into a sickeningly fake smile, her eyes nearly closed and her cheeks looking as if there were huge tennis balls in them. Her whole body screaming ‘anxiousness’, that even Hikaru- somebody who had met Tamaki only moments ago, could identify.

“You’ll be alright here, won’t you? With this..boy? You won’t let me down, will you Tamaki?” The grandmother asked, her voice as cold as stones by the end of her speech, her body language and speech seemingly emotionless and uncaring towards Tamaki.

Hikaru clicked his teeth audibly, his head turning to the side, to block the old woman out of his vision. While his stomach boiled with worry of having the glare directed towards himself.

He had already seen how it made Tamaki curl into on herself, her shoulders curving forwards to shield herself. Her beautiful violet coloured eyes covered in a layer of worry, her fair eyebrows pressed down towards her eyes. Her thick legs stopping to a halt.

Hikaru was surprised that he could even click his tongue at the small, ‘frail’, old woman. Though, he decided to blame it on his stupid attraction to the girl who had kidnapped him. To blame it on the low swirling feelings in his stomach, still making his thoughts blurry and his mind forget about the strange, awful things that had happened all in one day.

It was amazing really, how easily Tamaki had made him forget. How at ease, yet panicky Tama made him. It was almost as magically as the river, and the awfully freaky thing she did with her hair. It was so strange, that rather worrying about his own safety, he worried for hers. He worried over the girl, who so obviously, treasured her grandmother as if she was a diamond.

What was even stranger, was the spiking possessiveness. The strong want to pull Tamaki into his arms to keep her away from the old woman. The strong urge to sprout awful insults towards the two foot granny that obviously had no care for fashion, or anything that made her seem human.

“No,” Tamaki chocked, her feet landing to the layer of roses, and moving to stand at the huge windowsill. Her fingers moving to tie the two long plaits together, Hikaru’s eyes widening as she did so.

Not this shit again.

Tamaki’s fingers looped around the chain that held the hook, which was currently sitting at the bottom of the tower. Her feet spread apart slightly as her whole body heaved backwards, the weak arms managing to pull up the hook without even breaking a sweat. Her eyebrows staying steady, her eyes so still and calm.

“Don’t nurture him, or pay him any kindness, you hear me Tamaki?” Tamaki’s grandmother told her, her own voice stern and strong. Her eyes sending shards of fire through Tamaki’s spine, making her shoulders jitter.

“I won’t,” Tamaki replied, her voice turning flat, her fingers reaching to loop the hook into her hair, her other hand reaching out to her grandmother.

“Well, you never know with you. You’re too soft, just like your stupid mother was, and she’s dead because of it,” Tamaki’s grandmother continued, her voice sounding as if she found glee in the fact that Tamaki’s mother was six feet under.

Tamaki twitched visibly, her eyes burning momentarily before settling into a sombre expression. Her stomach twisting with resided anger, that constantly rattled her brains with uncertainty.

Maybe her grandmother wasn’t the saviour she thought she was? Maybe she, was the one Tamaki ought to be hiding from? Rather than the outside which had harboured the pretty boy who made Tamaki’s heartbeat faster.

“The only reason he’s batting an eye is because of your face, maybe even your dress. He’s not twisted like you.” The grandmother continued, trying to nail cynical ideals into Tamaki’s brain. Her eyes rolling backwards as Hikaru began to frown with confused eyes.

Confused squeezed lemon shaped eyes wandered from the old woman to Tamaki, Hikaru’s teeth catching the insides of his gums and nibbling on the edges. His mind fighting to think as his body started to drift into a mixture of cramps and fatigue. His body worn out with all the climbing, running and nearly drifting into nothingness in a death lake. As well as the emotional toll that has pushed his heart through heartbreak, guilt, surprise and attraction all in the span of one day.

“Tamaki’s a he,” The grandmother announced, swinging her legs over the edge of the balcony, and waiting for Tamaki to pick her up and take her to the bottom. Her face smug and bright, expecting Hikaru’s mind to flick off it’s attraction switch and turn to hate Tamaki.

“Just because you have a dick, doesn’t mean you’re a boy. Tamaki can be a girl if she likes,” Hikaru replies, not missing a beat with the announcement. His head filled with porcupine needles that forced his head to lean slightly forward in pain.

“Well, actually, the only reason I’m wearing this is because I have nothing else. It’s got nothing to do with my gender,” Tamaki admitted, swirling the dress around his legs softly, a soft smile on his lips as his eyes followed the fabric.

The smile angelic, a slight flash of perfectly shaped teeth peeking out of his lips. The fingers light on the edges of his dress. His movements a mixture of excitement and relaxation. His beauty a mixture of overpowering and soft.

Every inch of his skin seemed to sparkle and twinkle as if he was made of stardust, and Hikaru had no doubts that Tamaki was made by Gods, or something so extraordinary that his mind screamed ‘illogical’! Tamaki was illogical in every way, his looks were so perfect in ways that were so imperfect. His personality was so kind yet so brash.

He was perfect in every sense, and Hikaru could only describe himself as infatuated with Tamaki. Even if Hikaru didn’t like both boys and girls, he’s sure he would have made an exception for Tamaki.

“I’ve finally found someone more twisted than you,” The grandmother commented, watching as the tips of Hikaru’s ears turned red.

“I’m trying to sleep,” Hikaru snarled, his confidence rising as he realised that the old goat only bit with words, rather than actual violence. Also, he’s been through way too much shit today to be worrying about a lady who was smaller than his shoes.

* * *

 

Hikaru’s eyes fluttered open slowly, a sinking feeling still sweeping his bones and sticking them to the chair. The pains of sharp wooden edges dulled by the want and need to sleep and hold something close.

“You’re a really heavy sleeper,” Tamaki commented from in front of him, his legs crossed on the floor and hair spread out in tiny wrinklets. The blue and red blending into the blonde, making them look more natural than the plaits that made them look like tasteless blasts of colour.

Hikaru groaned, stiffening and moving, his feet and wrists ready to feel coarse and itchy ropes. Only to find that they were loose and wild. His legs had creeped to curl up against his chest, his hands resting at the opposite elbow.

His head twisted sideways to check his destination, his eyes widening to find a soft pillow behind head.

“I didn’t have any blankets,” Tamaki shrugged, as Hikaru let his soft smile shine through without hesitation. He was too tired to let his pride win and rule his actions.

Hikaru nods his head lightly as he pulls the pillow from behind his head, not trusting his voice to repel the instinct to go an octave higher. His hand reaching outwards to throw the pillow to Tamaki.

“How long have I been out?” Hikaru asked, reaching his arms behind his shoulders to stretch, a whiny sound escaping his mouth and making Tamaki jump.

“Well, it’s night now,” Tamaki replied, signalling to the balcony where a bright white moon loomed over them, a dark midnight purple seeping from the edges.

“Your grandmeasles here?” Hikaru continued, springing off the chair and rubbing the bottom of his back with a pained look on his face. A dull yet sharp pain attacking his back from where wood had prodded into his skin.

“You’re probably the most irritating and rude, yet kind and protective person I know,” Tamaki replied, his voice covered in a layer of wonder and curiosity.

“Kind is a word I’ve never been described as, if you discard my brother that is,” Hikaru replies with a chuckle. His lips curling into a natural smile, without the thought of replacing it with a scrawl running through his mind at all.

“You have a brother? What’s he like?” Tamaki asked, his whole body perking up in interest, his cheeks puffing slightly like a puppy dog.

Hikaru’s stomach swirled slightly with happiness, no one was ever really interested in him at all. Well, if you left out the ‘everyone wants to kill you’ part.

“The greatest, everything I’d like to be if I’m honest,” Hikaru admitted, noting that he definitely wouldn’t say this to Kaoru’s face. Kaoru would hold it against him for the rest of his life. Probably mention it every day, with that stupid grin on his face.

“We had a fight,” Hikaru continued, his throat constricting and forcing him to swallow. The heavy rocks of guilt weighing him down.

“That’s what siblings do right? They fight and make up, because no matter what, they’ll be there for each other,” Tamaki spoke, his speech pretentious and cheesy, yet Hikaru couldn’t help but take it to heart and believe it.

Tamaki had this way of effortlessly making himself believable, without evening having to try. Whether he was sprouting nonsense about umbrellas being made from bat’s wings, Hikaru had the feeling that he’d always believe him. Despite his cynical and untrusting nature.

“I thought we were going to talk about you, and this crazy world you’ve dragged me into,” Hikaru said after a pause, eager to move onto the next topic. To release the heavy chains and weight’s laying on his heart like tumours.

“Hey! You walked in here! I didn’t drag you at all,” Tamaki protested, crossing his arms against his chest defensively, hair flying everywhere to fall at the middle of his cheeks. His voice higher than usual, the sound squeaky and adorable.

Hikaru could hardly keep in a giggle, and settled for a strained chuckle. His cheeks turning a bright shade of red as his ears heard the choking sound. His mind screaming and setting off fire alarms, his eyes wide and mouth closed stubbornly.

Tamaki stopped in his tracks as he spotted the tomato head on Hikaru’s body, his own cheeks dusting with pink. His fingers moving to tangle with each other nervously.

“So, your hair is bat shit crazy?” Hikaru asked in effort to start a conversation, his hand cupping his mouth as he coughed repeatedly. His eyes glued onto Tamaki with an intensity that not even Tamaki could match up with.

“Yeah, I was born with it. One represents my platonic soulmate, while the other is my romantic soulmate. Though I have no idea which is which, and if I cut my hair at all, they’ll disappear,” Tamaki explained, his chest straightening as he got comfortable in the conversation. He was obviously excited to explain magic to someone who had only ever heard of it in story books.

“How do you know?” Hikaru replied, resting his head on his hands. His heart filling with affection as he watched Tamaki babble with excitement, his hands waving in all directions to explain his hair.

“I had another platonic soulmate, but my Grandma cut my hair and the purple disappeared,” Tamaki answered, his hands absent-mindedly running through his hair protectively, a sorrowful look on his face.

“It was like losing a limb, it hurt,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> purple ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)


	9. Self-Loathing Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hikaru thinks he should feel guilty about this, he thinks he should hate himself for it. But it doesn't effect him all that much, and he can't decide whether it's because he knows Tamaki has got to get it off his chest, or that he already hates himself too much to add anymore onto it.

"Did it, did it kill them?" Hikaru asked, not even bothering to wonder why his mind constantly wandered to death. He'd been into contact with it too much in his lifetime, and it sort of felt like a clingy friend now: it was everywhere around him, he couldn't rid himself of it. 

"No, I would have felt as if my whole body was crumbling to dust, I think it just means that we can't see each other when we eventually do meet, or have each other in the same place," Tamaki replies, his eyebrows moving to join together in a worried expression, his head bowing downwards. 

Hikaru took a deep breath before collecting his thoughts together, his stomach still tight and swirly with guilt and his head pricked with countless questions. He wanted to know everything and anything about this world he had seemingly jumped into.  

He wanted to know why he was here, why Tamaki had brought him up to the tower, why Tamaki's grandma was such a dick, but most of all, he wanted to know whether Kaoru was okay. He wanted to know whether Kaoru would ever forgive him, ever have the chance to forgive him. 

"What do we do now?" Hikaru asked, standing up from the chair and moving to lean against the wall, his legs half pulled up to his chest and his hands carelessly leaning on them. 

"I want you to take me to the princess," Tamaki announced quickly, his voice turning into a strong shout as his body straightened into a proud position. He looked totally ridiculous, and Hikaru was trying to figure out whether he loved it to bits, or hated it. 

"And why would I do that? And why would you want to do that?" Hikaru replied, his voice passive, although he was deeply interested in both questions. 

"Because I saved your life?" Tamaki suggested hesitantly, his lips curling into a wiggly smile, his shoulders perking up in a nervous way that made Hikaru's heart flutter. 

"Good point, but I'm a criminal, like, a wanted criminal. You think I can really just stroll into the palace with you on my arm? They would think I had kidnapped you or something. Also, you didn't answer my other question," Hikaru told him, his hands waving in hand gestures that were completely wasted on Tamaki.  

Tamaki paid too much attention to your face to notice anything but the words coming from your mouth, and it was intimidating for someone like Hikaru, who couldn't communicate well with words, but could communicate appropriately with body language.  

"I don't believe you’re a criminal, you're mean and nasty, but I still don't believe you're a criminal. And to answer your other question, I want to meet the princess because everything about her and surrounding her is red, I want to find out if she's one of them. If she's the one," Tamaki says whimisically, and Hikaru can see the hopeful look in his eyes, he can see the way Tamaki hopes it to be her. 

He doesn't know how to feel. Should he feel upset that the person he'd met only a couple of hours ago had already set on someone else? Or should he feel angry that Tamaki didn't feel the same appeal he did? 

"You better start believing, because I'll be hanged otherwise," Hikaru grunts, knocking his head back to lightly hit against the wall, his fingers picking at the skin of his fingers. He's too emotional today, he needs to do something, anything to just feel like he did in that goddamned lake. 

"Regardless, we need to make a plan to get out of here. Or, more specifically, we need to go searching through my grandmothers spell books to find a disenchantment charm for you," Tamaki tells him, his sentence professional but his movements anything but. Clumsily, but excitedly, Tamaki clambered across the room to a huge bookcase before grabbing a large pile of books and throwing them to Hikaru's feet. 

"Ow," Hikaru moaned as one of the books hit his foot, his hand moving to rub at it although the book had only scraped his baby toe. He couldn't help being dramatic, since it was what got him food as a kid: people didn't help the homeless and abandoned unless they looked like they were about to die or catch an illness. 

Tamaki ignores him before passing him a book and crossing his legs beneath him. He looked like a tiny child who had just found out that dinosaurs were real, and had found a whole encyclopedia on them. His eyes were wide with excitement, and his legs kept tapping at the floor every few seconds to express his enthusiasm. 

"The lakes the reason I need this, right?" Hikaru asked, despite knowing the answer. He hadn't even opened up the cover yet, he was too busy looking at Tamaki. 

"Yeah," Tamaki mumbles, and Hikaru doesn't know if he's ever heard Tamaki say something seriously (though it doesn't really mean much as Hikaru's only known him a day). 

Sighing heavily, Hikaru flips through the book, his eyes scanning through the subtitles of the pages. Nothing about charms so far. Nothing about spells either, everything seemed to be based on the fundamentals in this book: it told him everything, but gave Tamaki nothing.  

Relying on Tamaki to fill him in on the magic, Hikaru throws the book to the other side of the room. Slowly, he scans the other books and decides which one to pick. They are all brown with heavy front colours, expect for one which is black and the front cover has the consistency of tissue paper. Deciding to pick the obvious choice, Hikaru reaches for the book and flips through the pages before squinting his eyes. 

"This isn't in English," Hikaru announces, holding up the book to Tamaki, who pales slightly when he sees it's context. Hikaru is instinctively curious, and wants to know everything about it. Both to annoy Tamaki, and learn more about him. 

"No, it's maleficioun, witch/wizard language," Tamaki mumbles, reaching to grab the book from Hikaru's hands, but Hikaru holds tighter, determined to get to the bottom of Tamaki's distress. 

"What does it say?" Hikaru asks, knowing he is treading on thin ice. But that has never stopped him before, and it isn't going to stop now because Tamaki is pretty. 

"It's dark, disgusting stuff. You don't need to know about it," Tamaki grunts, and Hikaru notes the way his teeth clench against each other and his shoulders tense upwards, as if he wants to run away. 

"I want to, tell me," Hikaru says, feeling the ice beneath him crackle beneath his feet and threatening to sink him under. But if it's anything as nice as that lake, he'll be absolutely fine with it. 

"We don't need it," Tamaki snarled, his eyes hard and angry, his fingers fidgety and for a moment, Hikaru's scared he's going to do something. He's afraid of what Tamaki can do, and the revelation pushes through him like a bullet.  

"Tell me what this page says, or tell me how it relates to your mother's death," Hikaru commands, his whole body sinking through the icey water, his limbs cooling into a sense of dread. He doesn't even know if he's linked everything correctly, he doesn't know whether he's dragging Tamaki's mother into it for nothing.  

Hikaru knows that if anyone challenged him about his parents, they wouldn't have a mouth to sprout insensitive words after. He wonders what Tamaki will do to him, he wonders if he cares. 

"Fuck you," Tamaki snarls again, his fingers gripping onto his own thighs, his left hand turning red from the fingernails and up to his wrist, his right doing the same but in blue.  

Hikaru swallows, his whole body frozen. He waits, for Tamaki to tell him. He waits, for Tamaki to hurt him, kill him even. He doesn't really mind which. 

"What does it say?" Hikaru tries again, his voice still harsh and laced with annoyance, his eyes moving to Tamaki, trying to convey the concern Hikaru has for him. 

Tamaki's coloured hands rub at his face, his knuckles kneading into his forehead hard. He's tense, his shoulders curved inwards and his eyes shut tightly. 

Hikaru thinks he should feel guilty about this, he thinks he should hate himself for it. But it doesn't effect him all that much, and he can't decide whether it's because he knows Tamaki has got to get it off his chest, or that he already hates himself too much to add anymore onto it. 

"Reanimation of the dead. Those two pages show you how to reanimate the dead in a number of ways. Namely: Ragdoll, Marionette, Doll, Puppet, Music Box and Eater," Tamaki announces, lifting his head from his hands and pointing to a subtitle on one of the pages. 

"Ragdoll. A person who is going to become a ragdoll must die by being sliced in half, the witch/wizard in question must then sew them back together, draw this symbol on the floor and lay the sewed body onto it. They must then take a energy charm, before saying the spell. 

The Ragdoll cannot walk, the most a Ragdoll can do, is move it's upper half as a collective whole, making it close to a worms movements. It's used for emotional turmoil, as the victim does have it's soul intact," Tamaki tells him, not bothering to watch Hikaru's expression before moving to the next. 

"Marionette. The victim must die by dismemberment, and like the Ragdoll, must be sewed back together. The symbol on the floor is different for each of the reanimations, but for all of them, the body is laid onto the symbol and the witch/wizard must say the spell. Some need an energy charm before, some don't. Marionette needs the charm.  

The Marionette can walk by itself in death, but is lifeless when it comes to the soul. It can be used as either a slave, or for it's relatives turmoil." Tamaki continues, pointing to the subtitle beneath the Ragdoll one, his body language surprisingly calm for the outburst he had only a couple of minutes ago. 

Yet, Hikaru can't help but note the coloured hands, and he decides that Tamaki is still in a pit of rage. He's still on edge, but is more focused on getting the explanations over, than focusing on his own turmoil. 

"Doll. The victim must also die by dismemberment, though for the doll the dismemberment isn't limited to the limbs. At every joint of bones, the victim must be sliced, the only exception is the torso. The body parts must then be burnt in wax before being sewn together. Though, you can do this the opposite way, burning the victim and then dismembering them after. Two energy charms are required for the spell of this one. 

The Doll is the only one of the reanimated that can speak, but the voice is monotone as the Doll has no soul. They can walk too. They are used as servants as they are the closest one can get to a devoted human being. Again, they are also used for emotional turmoil for the victims relatives, as they are displeasing to the eye and their monotone voice causes heartbreak and in some cases insanity." Tamaki cotinues before looking to Hikaru, as if he's waiting for something, waiting for an extreme reaction. Instead, he meets a disgusted twist of Hikaru's mouth, his eyes looking to the floor, confused. 

"Puppet. The Puppet is exactly like the Marionette, though their movements are controlled by the witch/wizard who created them. They also have strings seeping from the stitched areas that makes it possible for witches/wizards to sew their puppets together in a row of sorts. They are used for the same reasons as the others," Tamaki says, his voice choking a little at this one, and it causes Hikaru to look up. 

Tamaki's eyes are watery, the red/blue colours of his skin sweeping through his whole body now, blending into a dark purple at his chest. The patches of colour seemingly reassuring him, helping him through it. 

Hikaru's throat swelled, a heavier sense of guilt getting their way through the joints of his bones, his eyes pricking slightly at everything.  

He wants to go back, he wants to stay where he is. He's so confused and he wants Kaoru at his side to tell him what to do, to tell him what to feel, but he doesn't have Kaoru anymore and he's at loss for everything. 

"My mother was a Puppet, before we had to put her down again, of course," Tamaki confesses, tears flowing from his eyes. The tears ugly, snot dripping out of his nose and his hands moving frantically to swipe it away. Hikaru made no attempt to comfort him, he knew it would frustrate him, isolate him. 

He didn't stop crying for an hour. It was ugly, and his dress was covered with snot and tears. Hikaru was pretty sure that his fingernails had snot hidden within them.  

But, it helped. Hikaru could see how his shoulders relaxed and the colours moved away from his skin. He could see how much Tamaki had let himself bottle it in. He could practically feel the regretted emotions falling from Tamaki's body. In a way, it was peaceful, or gave peace to Tamaki and Hikaru decided to have a few minutes without his guilt. 

"You can tell me the rest tomorrow, I'm exhausted," Hikaru commands, watching as Tamaki nods. 

Neither move where they are sitting, with piles of books crowding every place in sight. Instead, they just lay amongst them, and Hikaru doesn't know whether he can sleep now.


	10. Panicked Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tamaki loved to fucking ruin Hikaru's concentration and turn him into a gooey mess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i improved chp1+2+3!!!!

His eyes open reluctantly, a groan slipping out as his arms wrapped around the book he had been clinging onto throughout the night. 

Quickly, Hikaru sat up, his breath catching and skipping as his head twisted around. His fingers scratched at the floor as his breath sped up even faster, his eyes looking around the place he'd woken up in. 

He couldn't recognise it. He didn't know where he was. Where was Kaoru? Where was Kyoya? 

Why was he inside? Was he kidnapped? Taken as hostage again? 

Where was Kaoru? 

Tapping on the floor, Hikaru considered yelling for Kaoru. He considered kicking and screaming for the whereabouts of Kaoru. He considered keeping quiet, waiting to size up the kidnappers, listen to whether Kyoya or Kaoru were mixed up in this mess.  

They had to be around here somewhere. Kaoru had to be. Hikaru could find him, he knew Kaoru more than the back of his hand, he knows what he smells like, knows what he sounds like, he _knows_.  

He knows that he's never slept through a night without his brother. Never slept through a night without Kyoya a body away from him in at least two years. 

Reaching down to his ankle and feeling his sock empty, Hikaru swore under his breath, his fingers scratching at his skin. His mind somehow making up that if Hikaru scratched hard enough, the dagger would appear in the palm of his hand. 

"Hey! Hey, Hikaru?" A voice yelled out to him, hands reached out to grab his face. Hikaru immediately leaned backwards to slam back on the intruder in the nose, before being stopped by soft calloused fingers gripping at the edges of his cheeks. 

"You're shaking." Tamaki tells him, pulling him back from his illusions and back onto the world where him and Kaoru are apart. Hikaru's eyes widen, realising that yesterdays events actually happened, his arms coming to rub frantically at his face. 

Hikaru gulps loudly, sick gathering quickly in his throat. Pushing Tamaki away, he leaned over to puke, his throat feeling sore and his insides feeling heavy with occasional stabs of guilt and worry. His fingers moving to pick at the flooring, heavy teardrops falling to where Hikaru was throwing up. 

His stomach feeling sunk in his body, his body eager to turn itself inside out. Eager to empty Hikaru out, empty him of his ugly thoughts, his ugly actions, his organs, his blood- his body was eager to get rid of him. 

Silently, Tamaki wrapped his arms around Hikaru. Loosely, he pulled Hikaru into his chest, his lips twisting into a frown as Hikaru's shoulders continued to shake violently. 

"Breathe," Tamaki whispered, his hand slowly rubbing at the back of Hikaru's neck. Breathing heavily in attempt to get Hikaru to copy, Tamaki sat them both up, so that Hikaru could breathe more effectively.  

Gradually, Hikaru's breathing began to get slower and more even, although his fingers were still gripping at Tamaki for dear life. His body becoming less violent and more slouchy against Tamaki's. 

"What's a Music Box?" Hikaru asks, his body still resting fully on Tamaki. He knows that he should confide in Tamaki, he knows that he should tell him _something_ about what just happened. But he can't. 

He can't open up to someone like Tamaki, a empathetic stranger like Tamaki. He's already told Tamaki too much, already felt too much for Tamaki. He doesn't need to add anything more, he doesn't need to care for someone who is using him to meet a princess. 

Tamaki lifts Hikaru off of him slightly, giving him a concerned look for a couple of second, somehow thinking that Hikaru would open up after all. He doesn't, and Tamaki lets him slouch on him once more. 

"Like a Doll, but they can't move. They don't have the stitches either, they don't require much effort either," Tamaki tells him, keeping his voice relatively quiet, trying to listen and monitor Hikaru's breathing. 

"Eater?" Hikaru mumbles, kneading his head at Tamaki's shoulder as tears rolled down his face. 

He didn't want Tamaki to see him cry again. He didn't want Tamaki to pay attention to him whatsoever. He wanted Tamaki to focus on the questions he was asking him, he wanted Tamaki to forget he ever had an outburst. 

It looked like it was working. 

"Basically a zombie. They're risky, and frankly useless. They die before they can even get close to a person, they aren't durable like the others," Tamaki continues, moving one hand from Hikaru's nape to make hand gestures, his fingers counting off in his head. He was distracted, which meant that Hikaru was good. 

"Hey, you look for the disenchantment thing, and I'll make you some durable clothes?" Hikaru asks, rubbing frantically at his eyes before picking his head from Tamaki's shoulder and looking at him straight in the eye. 

"Durable clothes?" Tamaki comments, raising an eyebrow. His fingers subconsciously going to his long flowy dress. 

"Yeah, if you're going to be travelling with me, you need something you can run in," Hikaru tells him, eyeing the deep maroon curtains framing the window, looking to the purple fabric covering the chairs that were dotted around and glancing to the wardrobe which hopefully had a range of materials Hikaru could work with. 

"If you want a dress, it's going to have to be knee length, is that-" Hikaru started, travelling across the room and tugging the curtains off the window and swiping the blue cloth from the table.  

"I haven't wore trousers since I was ten, so, erm" Tamaki admits, scoping up his hair into a high bun before trodding over to where they left the pile of disorganised books from last night. 

Hikaru nods, biting his bottom lip softly, thinking about the planning that had to go into creating clothing. He hadn't done it in a while, and when he did, Kaoru was beside him creating the sketches of design while he worked on the physics of it all. 

While Hikaru did have a knack for fashion, had a knack for sewing and practically everything else in that field- he couldn't draw. And more than that, he didn't even know if Tamaki had sewing supplies. Didn't have sheets of paper where he could mark where the pockets go, or where the buttons would go (where was he going to get a button? Zipper?). 

Letting out a huff, Hikaru looks over to Tamaki to ask. His mouth freezes as he finds Tamaki staring directly at his legs. A few embarrassed noises escape his mouth as he pulls down his shorts more in effort to hide some of the scars adorning his legs, his face bright red. 

Tamaki must think they're ugly, his scars. But, regardless, Hikaru couldn't change them now and Tamaki would never be interested in him anyway (he's got his scarlet princess), so he can't find himself caring about it for too long. 

Smirking, Hikaru watches as Tamaki stuffs his nose into his book. It's cute. 

"Being a criminal is so hard. Couldn't make me ugly though," Hikaru mutters, running a hand over his face in attempt to hide the huge blush spreading across his face, despite the fact that his voice was still wavering around the place. 

"I don't think they're ugly," Tamaki mumbles from the other side of the room, his nose still pressed against the pages of the book but his eyes curiously peeking over the top of the book. 

Hikaru lets out a series of high-pitched noises, his arms recoiling inwards as he jumped upwards a little. His face somehow getting even redder and his mouth not letting anything coherent come out. 

"D-Do you have a sewing kit?" 

* * *

 

Holding them above his head, Hikaru admires his work. It took him three days, but he did it. He'd made a pair of pale blue three-quarter length shorts, with big pockets and little embroidered stars next to every seam in them a gold button (it turns out that Tamaki loved to collect buttons and zips, so much that he reward for most things was buttons and zips. He had three boxes of them) and a golden zipper. They were by far the best part of the outfit that Hikaru had made, he loved them. 

On the floor beside him, was the deep maroon shirt he'd made. Hikaru had added strong material around the chest (he'd used the purple chair material), just in-case anyone wanted to attack them. He'd used golden buttons again, and made the sleeves extravagant, although they didn't exactly look as good as he thought they would. 

And, despite the whole experience being a flashback, reminding him of when he and Kaoru spent nights and nights improving the defense of their clothing (with Kyoya cooking in the background) and generally being a peaceful and nice experience, Hikaru could easily say that these three days had been stressful, and more than that _tempting_. 

Tamaki. Tamaki, Tamaki, Tamaki had a habit of playing with his hair every five minutes. Hikaru could perfectly imagine who he'd start with the roots of his chair before winding his fingers downwards to play with the tips. Tamaki loved to make incoherent noises of pleasure when he found something related to disenchantments in the books he was researching. Tamaki loved to stretch out every morning, his back stretching backwards into a bridge, the outer layer of his dress falling across his face. Tamaki loved to be utterly adorable without even realising it. 

Tamaki loved to fucking ruin Hikaru's concentration and turn him into a gooey mess. 

Hikaru had even found himself not wanting to get the concentration back, to just sit back and watch Tamaki nibble lightly on his fingers. 

It was fucking ruining Hikaru, he hated it. 

"Right! So all you'll have to do is drink this and you should be able to travel through the lake. But it only lasts for around ten minutes so we're going to have to be really quick with it," Tamaki explained, sitting himself down next to Hikaru, his whole body pressed up nicely against Hikaru's, making Hikaru's whole body burn with affection and attraction. 

"Kay, boss," Hikaru grumbles sarcastically, refusing to meet Tamaki's eye-sight in fear that he'd start blushing for the hundredth time within the span of four days. His hands holding out the shirt and shorts in his hands lightly. 

"Boss?" Tamaki squeaked, the space buns on either sides oh his head bouncing around the place as he shook his body with excitement and affection. His mouth curling into a broad smile, his eyes practically gleaming out of his sockets. 

An embarrassed frown instinctively formed on Hikaru's face, his hands moving to cover the full face blush appearing on his face. 

"No! No! It's cute!! Hikaru, it's cute!" 


End file.
